Skip to main content

Hiya Toys Godzilla 2002

Hiya Toys' Godzilla 2002 is based on the suit from the film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. I was never a big fan of the film. I remember the first time I watched it I wasn't too impressed. I recently watched it again and found it just so-so. Some of the monster scenes were cool, but the story was a blatant rip-off of Megaguirus' plot. I liked the main character Akane, but everyone else was either forgettable or just plain goofy. I preferred the next film in the series, Godzilla: Tokyo SOS, which served as sequel to this one, as well as a sequel to the original Mothra from 1961. Anyway, the suit they used for Godzilla in both these films was a more sleek version of Godzilla 99's suit, with smaller, silver dorsal spines and a smaller head. When Hiya first announced this figure, the promo images looked pretty bad, especially the face, looking very goofy. Thankfully, they resculpted the face and the final release looks much better. Once I saw how nice it turned out, I went ahead and purchased one off of Kowkis Toys. It arrived last week.










The sculpt is very detailed, probably their most detailed out of all the Toho Godzilla releases. They've really improved since Godzilla 91, and that was only last year. Every inch of the body is filled with scales and creases. In addition to grey, there are hints of blue and brown throughout the paint on the body, though it doesn't always show on camera. The eyes are particularly fantastic: large black pupils, with a light brown iris and amber on the rest. They are quite shiny, almost looking like they're made of glass, but they're not. His spikes are a light grey with darkening at the base. His tongue is a deep red. While the sculpt is not 100% accurate to the suit, it still looks good, much better than the wonky face that they displayed in the promo shots. I think he looks great, thicker than the SHMA and much improved over the NECA from a few years ago. His only accessory is an alternate pair of hands that are more closed. Hiya plans to release a beam variant later, with what appear to be translucent spikes. I'm pretty happy with this "plain" version.














The figure has pretty good articulation. The head and multiple segments of the neck are on ball joints, and can look up, down, and turn to each side. When raising the head, there is a visible gap around the neck, though it's not too bad. The jaw opens, with the tongue on a hinge, able to be lowered and raised. The torso can shift forward and turn fully around. The arms can be raised in a T-pose, with upper arm cut, bendable elbows and knees (I think they recycled these parts from their Godzilla 99 figure). The thighs can kick up high and out, and the ankles have a nice range, able to spin and pivot, a little better than the Godzilla 99. And finally, the multiple segments of the tail allow it to twist in many directions. In addition to standard monster poses, you can get him to sit, kneel, run, twist and kick. While the articulation on the S.H. MonsterArts is a little better, the Hiya is able to get good range without noticeable gaps in the arms and legs.















Honestly, the figure turned out nice. I've been satisfied with all of the Hiya Godzilla series figures I own, and this one is no exception. The sculpt is highly detailed, the articulation is good, and the paint apps are nice. The only other Hiya figure I have on preorder is the Final Wars Godzilla, which I'm very much looking forward to getting next year. They have several more Toho figures up for preorder, including Heisei Mechagodzilla, Kiryu Mechagodzilla, Destoroyah, Biollante and Mecha King Ghidorah. I'm assuming that those characters, once released, will be amazing. They seem to be on a roll, putting out quality figure after quality figure. Their new Skar King just dropped, and while I'm not a fan of that character, the figure they made of him turned out amazing, completely blowing SHMA's paltry, low effort release out of the water. I recall when NECA lost the license to produce Godzilla figures, many fans were upset because they offered a more affordable alternative to SHMA's high prices. Well it looks like NECA walked so that Hiya could run, because their figures have far surpassed anything that NECA ever put out. Now I really, really want Hiya Toys to produce a Godzilla 1984 figure. That would be a dream come true.












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ultraman Omega finale

Episode 25, the series finale of Ultraman Omega aired this Friday. From the very first episode I was hooked, and the series continued to maintain a high quality until the surprisingly emotional end. Sorato (Omega) regained all his memories, learning that he was one of many Space Gazers, who's job is to watch a planet and not interfere with any wars between the species (in Earth's case, humans and kaiju). A space Gazer's job is to observe, study and take notes, to learn from a planet's successes and mistakes, in the hopes of finding the right formula to achieve universal peace. Having returned to his previous role as simply a watcher, Kosei, Ayumu and Sayuki were forced to rely on themselves and their team to defeat the powerful kaiju Zomera. As he continued to watch the battle, Sorato/Omega found himself wrestling with the inactive role he was meant to do and his memories of the friendships he had forged with the others, as well as the examples of human kindness he had ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Help Me… I’m Possessed (1974) / #Missingcouple (2024)

I've watched some weird, obscure horror movies throughout my life. I can now add this lurid 1974 schlockfest to that growing list. In a castle in the desert, Dr. Arthur Blackwood runs a sanitarium filled with mentally disturbed patients (as well as staff). He claims to be working on finding a way to cure people of any violent tendencies they have, and brags about his younger sister, innocent, child-like Melanie, as evidence that his treatment works. When she was a child, their parents had to keep her locked up and chained in the basement, to control her violent fits. Now that he's cured her, Arthur has his wife Diane come to the castle to meet Melanie, so that they can be one big, happy family. Diane begins to grow suspicious that something is amiss after a Sheriff shows up investigating the murder of 2 local teens, and sets about on her own investigation, hoping to uncover the sinister secrets that she feels her husband is hiding. Help Me... I'm Possessed is an outrageous,...
Post a Comment
Read more

S.H. MonsterArts Anguirus 1972

One of my most anticipated figure releases of 2025 was finally delivered this last week. Godzilla's trusty sidekick, S. H. MonsterArts Anguirus (based on the 1972 suit). From the early video and photo reviews I had seen, he looked to have turned out a great figure. Now that I have him in hand, he absolutely is! This Ankylosaurus is based on the suit that was introduced in 1968's Destroy All Monsters, and made subsequent appearances in Godzilla vs. Gigan (72), Godzilla vs. Megalon (73), and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (74). Anguirus was the 2nd Toho monster to ever appear on screen, dueling with the big G in 1955's Godzilla Raids Again. For the later films, he became Godzilla's buddy, helping him out in his various battles. I'm a bit surprised that it took Bandai this long to release Anguirus in the MonsterArts line, as he's one of the more popular kaiju, but better late than never. He's painted in a chocolate brown, with pale yellow on his various spikes, hor...
Post a Comment
Read more